


heal my body, heal my heart

by itsmylifekay



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Whump, Dubious Medical Science, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, cuz aliens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 13:31:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19063681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmylifekay/pseuds/itsmylifekay
Summary: Alex gets infected with an alien poison while investigating a facility. Aka a shameless excuse for hurt!Alex and a caring, tactile Michael.





	heal my body, heal my heart

**Author's Note:**

> Set some time in the future.

Team Alien is all gathered at the Crashdown, what’s become their unofficial meeting place once the doors have been locked for the night. There’s nothing new to discuss, but somehow they’ve ended up scattered around the diner regardless, rehashing theories and trying to reclaim some sense of normalcy. For Michael, that’s proving to be especially difficult.

So much of their information comes from Alex’s work and Michael feels his absence like a heavy weight in his chest, frustrated not just because of the inevitable dead-ends without Alex’s insights, but because of the way his hands itch to be able to touch. To hold. He finds himself glancing out the windows whenever headlights sweep past, hoping Alex will pull up and walk through the doors.

They’ve been trying to patch things up. To move forward. Michael and Maria had lasted one, messy month before the inevitable realization that they were better off as friends, but that was plenty of time for Michael to break Alex’s heart. The connection is still there, as undeniable as ever, but everything else is a mess of pain and misunderstandings. So they’re going slow. Circling each other carefully like one wrong move could ruin everything. It’s torture, but Michael is willing to do it, is willing to do _anything_ so long as it means getting Alex back.

But Alex isn’t the only absence at the diner, the other far more conspicuous. Because while Alex has been avoiding these meetings from the beginning, Kyle has always shown up, usually bringing whatever intel he and Alex had found, acting as the go between while things were still so broken. Michael knows it isn’t Kyle’s shift at the hospital and he can’t help the surge of jealousy at the possibility of Kyle and Alex out there together.

He pushes those thoughts away, knows he has no claim over Alex beyond what they’re trying to rebuild. He forces himself to focus on the conversation happening around him instead of the empty seat beside him.

It’s getting late and they’re beginning to think of calling it quits when Liz’s phone rings.

“Kyle? Yeah, I—What happened?”

Everyone gets quiet, watching as Liz blinks rapidly, face going pale.

“Yeah, of course,” she says. She grabs her purse from the counter and starts digging in it for her keys. “I’ll meet you there.”

She hangs up and is halfway out the door before Max manages to catch her.

“What’s wrong?”

Liz shakes her head, still somewhere between shock and tears. “I have to go. It’s Alex.”

Michael feels the world drop out from beneath his feet. Thankfully, Max handles the news better, presses for more. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Kyle says we need to get to the lab right away.” She swallows thickly, glancing over where Michael is still frozen in place. “He said it doesn’t look good.”

Everything degenerates into white noise for a few terrible moments, all of the horrible possibilities running through Michael’s head. His body acts on autopilot as he follows Liz as she bolts out the door, throwing himself in the passenger seat and holding on as she peels out onto the street. He vaguely registers the rest of the group rushing to their own cars, but quickly loses sight of them in the rearview mirror as Liz speeds towards the lab.

They’re the first ones there, not even Kyle and Alex have arrived, so Michael follows in Liz’s wake as she unlocks the door and starts turning things on. After hardly a minute, Liz’s phone rings again and she immediately puts it on speaker, Kyle’s tense voice overlapping with the hum of awakening machinery.

“I’m going to need help getting him inside,” he says. “We’re less than a minute out.”

It doesn’t take anything more before Michael’s out the door, waiting in the parking lot as Kyle finally pulls in. He comes to a stop and Michael throws open the passenger door, scared to death at what he’s going to find.

Alex is breathing.

That’s the first thing Michael registers through the thick haze of fear. He’s alive and breathing, but he looks terrible. He’s sweaty and pale and his eyes don’t focus when Michael moves to help Kyle haul him out of the car. He’s trembling slightly, body wracked with tremors that he obviously can’t control. They all but carry him into the lab.

Kyle hadn’t been lying. It doesn’t look good.

By the time the others arrive, they’ve got Alex propped up on Michael’s chest, jaw clenched and eyes still glassy as Kyle takes blood and checks him over. They all hold their breath as Max steps up and puts a hand on Alex’s shoulder, eyes shut tight in concentration before he steps back and shakes his head.

“It’s like before, with Isobel. I can’t fix it. ”

Kyle sighs. “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid you’d say.”

Alex himself hasn’t said anything, has hardly made a sound aside from the occasional grunt at Kyle’s questioning.

The silence scares Michael more than anything, knowing how hard Alex is working to keep his pain hidden, wondering how bad it must be to have someone as strong as Alex trying to bite back groans of pain. But since Alex isn’t talking, it means Kyle’s the one who fills them all in, talking briskly as he works.

“We were investigating another facility. And before you start, I’m aware it’s dangerous. But we’re lucky he let _me_ tag along, let alone anyone else.”

Alex grunts at that, managing to sound offended and glaring in Kyle’s direction.

“Besides,” Kyle continues. “No heat signatures in this one, human or otherwise. Just supposed to be a chance to hack into a new system, maybe get some new information. Turned out to be a storage site for alien tech, too. Alex had me hauling out boxes of files while he was handling the alien stuff, waiting for his program to run on their computers. I didn’t realize something was wrong until we got outside and he told me I was driving. Alex _never_ lets me drive the jeep.”

Alex glares again, shifting testily in Michael’s arms, obviously not approving of the Valenti-rendition of events. Michael tugs him closer, presses one hand to the center of his chest and tries to read between the lines of what Kyle’s said.

He’d already assumed it was something alien related, there was no other reason Kyle would bring Alex here instead of the hospital.

But it’s still a shock when Kyle runs a hand over his face and says, “I’m figuring it’s some kind of alien poison, maybe similar to the serum. A way to protect their technology, maybe, or something that our human bodies aren’t built to handle. Either way, I’m betting something currently sitting in the back of the jeep is what did this to him. And we need to find a way to undo it before—”

He stops and they all look over to where Alex is still shaking slightly, hands clenched so tight his knuckles are white.

“Before it gets any worse.”

Tasks get divided up quickly. The twins are sent out to look at the tech and see if anything is giving off different ‘vibes’, a word that earns Valenti an unimpressed look from Isobel. Liz and Kyle stay in the lab to try and figure out what exactly is wreaking havoc with Alex’s body, and how to counteract it. Maria stays with them, doing a lot of worried pacing and glancing over to where Michael still has Alex held tight in his arms.

Because Michael has been left in charge of Alex.

Because at the first mention of Michael leaving to go check out what was in the jeep with his siblings, Alex had let out a horrifying, strangled sound before squeezing a single tear from the corner of his eye.

The tear’s been wiped away, but Michael can’t stop staring down at Alex’s face, overwhelmed by the pain still etched in his features. Michael can’t help himself, reaches out and runs a careful hand down the side of Alex’s face, strokes his thumb over a sharp cheekbone before urging Alex beneath his chin, tucking him as close and safe as he can be.

When Alex doesn’t complain, actually pushes a little closer into the crook of his neck, Michael starts carding fingers through his hair. “It’s gonna be okay,” he murmurs, pressing the words into the top of Alex’s head. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Kyle’s watched this entire exchange from the corner of his eye and Michael stares at him defiantly, daring him to say anything. But all he does it nod, mouth at Michael to keep it up, and go on with his work.

This goes on for a few minutes until Kyle wanders over again, takes in the way Alex has stopped shaking. He gives Alex a brief warning then presses fingers to the side of his neck, taking his pulse before checking the rest of him over.

“If this is some kind of alien poison, the best we can do for now is try to slow it down.” Kyle takes a step back and Alex immediately sits up, light tremors starting up again. Kyle sighs. “That means keeping your heart rate down, Alex. If possible, getting you to sleep.”

Alex tenses up even more and Michael knows what he’s just heard, the demand to make himself vulnerable, to relax some of his iron control. It only gets worse when Liz and Maria turn to follow the conversation, their eyes adding more weight to the pressure on Alex’s shoulders. The tremors get a little stronger.

And as much as Michael hates to admit it, Valenti’s right. The more worked up Alex is, the worse it seems to get.

As if to prove his point, Alex’s eyes suddenly slam shut, body going stiff in Michael’s arms, riding out some wave of pain that he’s desperately trying not to let show. Michael pulls him back down, angles his face so it’s hidden in the crook of his neck and rubs helplessly at his back. He shoots a pleading look at the others.

Liz, the angel, is the first to get the hint. “They could use the storage closet.”

Kyle lifts an eyebrow, lips quirking up at he corner. “Are we sure that’s going to get his heart rate _down_?”

Alex turns his head to glare half-heartedly, obviously not as pleased with Valenti-brand assholery as Kyle himself, but the break in tension is enough for them to get Alex to his feet.

The space is small and cramped and the floor is cold, but it’s private, and that’s what matters. It feels safe. They get Alex settled against Michael’s side and Kyle gives them firm instructions to try and sleep, or at the very least relax, before he turns and shuts the door. Then they’re alone.

It’s not long before the silence grates at Michael’s nerves, his ears clinging to every tiny sound Alex can’t quite hold in. He’s still shaking, his face pinched in pain, and Michael lasts maybe two minutes before he falls to temptation.

“Alex?” The other man stills and Michael swallows. “Can I hold you?”

He turns his head to catch Alex’s gaze and nearly breaks at the barely audible _yes_ he gets in return. Warmth floods through him and he moves as carefully as possible, using his arms and a bit of telekinesis to get Alex settled in his lap, his side pressed to Michael’s front and his legs thrown over one of Michael’s.

Slowly, Alex’s shaking stops, but he can’t hide the pained hitch in his breath when he shifts slightly in Michael’s hold. Michael goes back to running a hand through his hair, trying to keep his own breaths slow and even to coax Alex into doing the same. He’s not sure if Alex sleeps, but the silence doesn’t feel quite so strained, a calm settling around them that Michael prays is enough to carry them through to Kyle and Liz finding a cure.

Unfortunately, the universe has never really listened to Michael’s wishes.

Even keeping Alex calm, the poison spreads. The tremors come back slowly and when Alex presses a wet face to Michael’s neck, it takes Michael entirely too long to realize that it’s blood, not tears, staining the collar of his shirt.

 He turns on the lights and shouts for Valenti.

Kyle curses as soon as he sees the red dripping from Alex’s nose, followed by a renewed flurry of activity just outside the door. Max comes in to give healing Alex another try, now that his body is more visibly breaking down, but even when Max yells and the lights flicker, all they get is Alex’s fingers clenching tighter into Michael’s shirt.

Michael clings to the knowledge that they’ve at least found the device responsible, Isobel and Max able to interact with the tech enough to know which one their minds tell them not to touch. They still aren’t any closer to figuring out what to do _after_ someone’s been infected.

Finally, Michael can’t take it any more. Alex coughs wetly against his chest, wipes his face against Michael’s already ruined shirt like an over-tired toddler, and Michael once again calls for Valenti.

“This is an alien poison, right?” He starts talking before Kyle’s fully in the door, not waiting for an answer. “Then maybe we should try an alien antidote.”

“That’d be great…” Kyle says slowly. “If we had one of those sitting around.”

Michael takes a deep breath, glancing back down at Alex. The other man hasn’t even reacted to Kyle’s presence, doesn’t react when Michael wipes at the fresh blood beneath his nose.

He looks up at Kyle.

“How much acetone can the human body take?”

At first, Kyle looks at him like maybe _he’s_ in need of an antidote and Michael would shake him if he weren’t so busy holding Alex together. Then Alex coughs again, wet and terrible, and a pained groan slips past his lips. Kyle immediately crouches down, muttering curses and apologies as he tries to check Alex over, now visibly causing the other man pain with each movement.

He gets them a bottle of nail polish remover.

Michael’s in charge of making sure Alex drinks it.

They decide on just a few swallows at first, a careful test to see if there’s any change, positive or negative. Michael coaxes a bit of it past his lips, then holds him tight as he waits, feeling a thrill of triumph when Alex noticeably relaxes against him. A few minutes and a few sips later and he’s picking up his head to stare blearily around the room.

“Michael?” He sounds like he’s half-asleep and Michael gently grabs his chin to steady his gaze.

“Hey, I’m right here.”

Alex blinks a few times, eyes looking clearer than they have since he walked through the door.

“What’s going on?” He takes another look at their surroundings then settles back on Michael, more specifically Michael’s _shirt_ , face scrunching up. “Did I bleed all over you?”

Michael shrugs, unbothered. “Well, more like bled all over yourself then wiped it on me. But I don’t mind.”

Alex touches his mouth at the reminder, skin there still tacky with dried blood. Michael gently takes his hand away.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got you.” He squeezes Alex’s hand, the start of a smile on his face. “But if you wanted the attention, all you had to do was ask. No need for the near-death experience.”

Alex rolls his eyes but there’s a smile threatening the corners of his mouth. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looks like he’s about to say something else when his jaw snaps shut, visibly clenching as a shudder wracks his body.

Michael cups his face in one hand, trying to catch his eyes. “Hey, hey,” he says. “Stay with me. You’re okay.”

Alex gasps and grabs onto Michael’s wrist, coming easily when Michael pulls him back into his chest. He strokes his thumb anxiously over Alex’s cheek, fear mounting with each passing moment as Alex slips back into dazed trembling. Michael presses a kiss to the side of his head. “It’s okay,” he murmurs. “It’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you.”

He keeps whispering while Alex slips further and further away.

It’s barely five minutes before he’s bleeding again, five minutes after that and Michael is tilting Alex forward, trying to keep him from choking on his own blood and yelling for Kyle.

They give him more acetone, but as time passes it becomes obvious it’s just a patch, momentarily stalling the damage being done to Alex’s system and eventually dealing its own in turn. Kyle gets more and more worried with each check. It’s obvious time is running out.

Then, Michael hears a commotion outside the door. He feels a pulse of confusion and fear through his bond with Max and Isobel, cursing in the lab, then a crazed looking Liz comes skidding into the doorway.

“You were right,” she says. “An alien antidote for an alien poison, but Alex _isn’t_ an alien. He’s human, and the poison isn’t working the way it’s supposed to, isn’t getting _expelled_ the way it’s supposed to.”

Max steps up behind her and gives Michael a somewhat encouraging smile. “It only froze me up a bit, then a bottle of nail polish remover to be good as new.”

“Exactly! And Max can’t heal it because it’s not meant to be hurting anything,” she says. “But it is because it’s in Alex but alien powers don’t read between the lines like that I guess and anyway- That just means we need to get the poison _out._ Then Max can heal everything else.”

Michael starts piecing everything together and feels hope and dread mix in his gut. “Are you sure?” He looks up to where Kyle’s joined them in the doorway, all three of them crammed in the too small space. “Are you _sure_?”

“I might be a doctor, but they don’t exactly cover alien poisons in med school.” Kyle looks about as terrible as Michael feels when he shakes his head and runs a hand over his face. “I can predict what the acetone is going to do to him, the quantities we’d be talking could be enough to be life-threatening. But I think we’re running out of time.”

They all look to Alex, the unhealthy pallor that’s crept across his skin and the blood that’s been carelessly smeared between both of their bodies. If Michael couldn’t feel the gentle puffs of breath against his neck, the heat of him in his arms, then he’d be worried that he was already gone.

“I think Liz is right,” Kyle says, meeting Michael’s eyes. “And Max says he’s feeling fully charged.”

Michael nods. “Alright,” he clears his throat. “Can I—I think we should ask Alex.”

They all agree and before long Michael is pressing a bottle of nail polish remover back to Alex’s lips while everyone else rushes around getting ready. It takes almost the whole bottle for Alex to come back to some semblance of coherency.

“Hey,” Michael says, coaxing him back to attention. “We think we found a way to fix this.” Alex’s eyes focus on him blearily. “It could be dangerous, but—”

“But I’m already dying,” Alex whispers, cutting Michael off. He coughs and doesn’t even bother wiping the fresh blood from his chin, just rests his forehead against Michael’s neck and lets Michael do it for him. “Just do it. Whatever it is, just do it.”

“Okay,” Michael says. He brushes fingers through Alex’s hair. “As soon as Maria gets back with all the nail polish remover at the drug store, we’ll get started.”

Alex huffs out a laugh against him and Michael smiles at the sound, trying to cling to that burst of happiness rather than the way Alex’s hand shakes when he grabs Michael’s. Alex threads their fingers together and Michael holds his breath.

He can always tell when Alex is gearing up to say something.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

The words are muffled, but Michael feels them like the clear ringing of a bell, making something warm spread through his chest.

“I’ll always be here,” he promises. “For as long as you want me.”

He presses his mouth to the top of Alex’s head, then further to kiss his forehead, the side of his face. Alex scrunches his face up, but at least in those moments he doesn’t look so in pain, especially not when he meets Michael’s eyes with a small, fragile smile.

Things pass in a blur after that. Maria comes back with a frankly ridiculous amount of nail polish remover and they clear a space for Alex in the lab, wanting more room to work than the cramped confines of the storage closet. Alex has slipped back under and Michael bodily carries him out to the lab, the airman too far gone for even the pretense of walking. They settle back down on the floor, Alex’s back to Michael’s chest, and Michael holds him while they coax bottle after bottle of acetone down his throat.

Besides the gradual alleviation of Alex’s symptoms, it becomes obvious that the acetone is interacting with the poison based on the sheer amount they’re able to get down him. More than should be possible. Like the acetone is burned up almost as fast as he can drink it.

Max is hovering to the side, one hand pressed to Alex’s shoulder, eyes shut in concentration as he waits for the moment when the alien poison is gone and only regular, human acetone poisoning is left in its wake. But of course, turning that corner just can’t be easy, Alex’s body starting to fight the acetone as the poison diminishes and takes longer to burn it away.

Michael adds nail polish remover to the list of things Alex has coughed up onto his shirt.

Eventually though, things begin to slow. The trembling and bleeding stop completely. Alex is quiet, head propped against Michael’s shoulder and nursing a light purple bottle of remover while Kyle anxiously checks his pulse.

Then, Max’s hand begins to glow, he tightens his grip on Alex and the lights flicker. Alex gasps and acetone spills across the floor. When Max pulls his hand away, there’s a rainbow handprint left behind and Alex is still a mess of blood and sweat, but it’s over. The poison is gone. And any damage to Alex’s body should be fixed.

They all collectively hold their breath.

Then, Alex squints up at them and smirks. “The lengths I’ll go to for attention, huh?”

Liz is the first to react, joining them on the floor to throw her arms around Alex in a hug before leaning back and punching him in the arm. “Alex Manes, you are a menace.”

Alex doesn’t even try to argue, just gets that smug tilt to his head that makes Michael want to kiss him senseless. Above them, Isobel clears her throat, holding out her hand with a face wipe dangling from her fingers.

“I know that look, Michael,” she says. “And you’re welcome.”

Michael just grins back at her, too relieved and happy to see Alex back to himself to try and defend himself. He grabs Alex’s chin and starts scrubbing at his face, ignoring the spluttered protests until Alex catches his hand and gives him a look that makes him want to drop to his knees. He settles for handing over the face wipe.

Isobel hands him another with a roll of her eyes when Michael stares at her pleadingly, but he can see the tension leaving her shoulders as he wipes himself clean of Alex’s blood. He can feel the tension leaving his own body as well, looking around their makeshift trauma center.

Max is finishing off a bottle of nail polish remover, Liz already starting in on her lecture about proper lab safety now that Alex is safe. Kyle is giving Alex a thorough once over to make sure he’s really _truly_ all healed up. One that Maria interrupts when she crouches down by Alex’s side and lightly touches his face, saying something too quiet for Michael to hear but that puts a soft smile on Alex’s face.

By the time they all exit the lab, the midafternoon sun is high up in a cloudless sky, making the whole experience seem like a distant nightmare. Kyle takes one look at them and sighs.

“I’ll catch a ride back with Liz,” he says. “I’d warn you not to do anything strenuous just in case, but I doubt you’ll listen.”

Michael winks at him and ushers Alex into the passenger seat of the jeep, ignoring all protests as he takes the driver’s side and starts the engine. Someone wolf whistles and Michael grins, watching their friends smile and wave in the rearview mirror as they pull away.

He just barely catches Liz’s shout of “ _It’s about damn time”_ and can’t quite hide the goofy grin on his face. Because yeah, it feels like he’s been waiting forever, like as horrible as this night had been, it was the push he and Alex needed to fall back together. And as great as that feeling is, it’s still not enough to overpower his need to touch, to feel Alex against him and know that he’s here and alive and _his._

He holds out his hand between them, palm up, and looks at Alex from the corner of his eye.

“Can I hold you?”

Alex looks down at his hand, a glint to his eye that has Michael glowing. Their fingers thread together seamlessly. “You promised me forever, Michael,” Alex says. “Pretty sure that means you can hold my hand.”

Michael squeezes and brings their hands up to kiss the back of Alex’s knuckles. “For as long as you want me,” he reminds.

Alex grins, looking back out the window.

“So like I said, forever.”

 


End file.
